I have always been interested in Why we do things: I am not sure if the reasons here are correct, I would be pleased if any incorrect reasons could be corrected and new thoughts added.

Q) Why do we put our glasses together and say Cheers.

A) As far as I know it comes from when we were ruled by Lords, the Lords were always looking for ways to kill off the opposition, I suppose to take their land, one of the preferred ways of killing an opponent is to invite them for piece talks and poison them so when drinks were poured all the people would put their glasses / goblets together and pour a little of their drink into the others Glass / goblet this meant that if one of the drinks was poisoned they all drank it. Not sure why we say Cheers, think that was bought in later.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Q) Why do they say men should always walk on the right side of the lady

A) This dates back to when men use to wear swords, by the lady walking on the left this allowed the mans right hand to be free to draw their sword if needed.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Q) Why do people do the V sign.

A) I have heard it is because in the days of the Archer, when they were caught the 2 fingers they used to pull back the bow string were cut off so they could no longer use a bow. So when the Archers were waiting ready for the battle to begin they would show their 2 fingers to the opposition.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Q) Where does the game of darts originate.

A) Back to the Archers again, to keep their eye in they started throwing little arrows into a smaller target.

I only have one that springs to mind. Ever wondered why in UK we say Peppercorn rent?

It dates back to Victorian times. When peppercorns were first introduced into Britain they were a valuable commodity. In property leases the term peppercorn rent would mean a rent equivalent to the cost of a peppercorn :-)

A) Over a century ago it was common for prisoners to be given mundane tasks to complete daily, dig holes and re-fill them, breaking rocks, walking on a tread mill. One of the tasks given was a handle attached to a wheel with cups on, the prisoner would turn the handle, the wheel would turn and the cups would fill with sand, when the cup reached the top of the wheel the cop would empty the sand back into the tub at the bottom. The wheel was attached to a counter and the prisoner had to keep working until the required count was reached. All the prison officers held a key that could tighten a screw on the wheel, so if a prison officer took a dislike to a prisoner he could turn the screw to make the wheel harder to turn, the prison officers soon became known as Screws.

Q) Old Lags (term for Prisoners).

A) This comes from the above, some prisoners because of their age could not keep up and produce the number of revolutions of the wheel necessary so they would LAG behind.

A) Means buyer beware. In the medieval markets people would sell piglets the Pigs would be dropped into a sack (A Poke) for the buyer to take home. Once at home the buyer would find the pig had been substituted for a cheaper animal usually a Cat.

A) Some people believe that in Medieval times there were nomadic Mercenaries that would sell their services to the highest bidder. They did not have servants to polish their armour so after a while their armour would oxidise and take on a blackish colour.The mercenaries would participate in Local town festivals and hold jousting exhibitions. The prize in these jousting exhibitions was the losers armour. As the mercenaries were poor they did not need a second suit of armour so at the end of the festival the mercenaries would sell off the armour at the market where the losing masonries would usually buy back their black armour so this soon became known as the Black Market.

A) After a long trip across the Atlantic the lovelorn sailors would go ashore and bring the native girls back on board to have their way with them usually between the Cannons. Some of the women left behind would have sons and these would be called Sons between the guns, soon to be shortened to Son of a Gun

A) Ale was served at local tavern out of a tankard,. The price of the Ale was determined by the angle of the landlords elbow when pouring the ale. If the Elbow was half way up it was a Pint, all the way up it was a quart. As a Quart cost more than a Pint you were warned to watch you P’s and Q’s.